27.11.2015:AIFF PRESS RELEASE : The President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Mr. Praful Patel Chaired AIFF’s Executive Committee Meeting at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi on Friday (November 27, 2015).
Besides, AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das, Vice Presidents Mr. Subrata Dutta and Mr. Subhash Chopra and all other Members, except Mr. Shrinivas Dempo, Mr. Larsing Ming, Mr. KMI Mather, Mr. Amit Ranjan Dev, Mr. Sunil Bharadwaj, Mr. Jesiah Villavarayar, Ms. Sara Pilot, and Treasurer ZA Thakur, attended the Meeting.
AIFF Technical Director Mr. Scott O’Donnell and Indian U-17 National Coach Nicolai Adam were also present as were Bhaichung Bhutia, Advisor AIFF, Mr. Abhishek Yadav, Director, Scouting, AIFF; Mr. Javier Ceppi, Tournament Director, 2017 U-17 World Cup and Mr. Joy Bhattacharyja, Project Director, 2017 U-17 World Cup.
Mr. Chirag Tanna represented FSDL in attended the Meeting.
Mr. Patel spoke on the significance of the two back to back mega AFC events which are being held in India. “It’s an honour for us that AFC have chosen India to host the AFC Annual Awards and the 5th AFC Medical Conference,” he stated.
The AFC Annual Awards are slated to be held on November 29 while the AFC Medical Conference will be held from November 30 to December 2, 2015.
Meanwhile, the Committee, as per the suggestions given by the I-league Committee and after consultation with AFC, decided to hold the Federation Cup on a Home and Away basis for the season 2015-16. The top eight Teams as per the standings, after the completion of Hero I-League, would be participating in the Federation Cup. The champions of Hero I-League 2015-16 will play the eighth placed team and first runner up will lock horns with seventh placed team and so on.
First round will be followed by two-leg Semi-finals and eventually the final will decide the winner of Federation Cup 2015-16.Mr. Patel also requested FSDL to market and ensure that all the matches are telecast live.
There was also a presentation made on the second round of scouting for the section of the FIFA U-17 World Cup which was followed by a detailed discussion for getting better Players for the Indian National Team for the U-17 World Cup in 2017. The AIFF AGM would be held on December 20, 2015 in Goa.

I-League Committee Met At AIFF Football House

27.11.2015:AIFF PRESS RELEASE :The I-League Committee met today at the Headquarter of AIFF Football House, Dwarka, New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Ankur Dutta, Vice-Chairman, I-League Committee while Mr. Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF and Mr. Subrata Dutta, Vice-President, AIFF were also along with Mr. Sunando Dhar, CEO, I-League. Representatives from all Hero I-League clubs were present in the meeting.
The discussion primarily zeroed in on the Hero I-League 2015-16 format and fixtures which will be finalised soon. Hero I-League 2015-16 is scheduled to kick-off on 9th January, 2016 and is meant to run till May, 2016.
Mr. Sunando Dhar, CEO I-League, made a proposal to have an I-League Marketing Committee to streamline the marketing strategy of Hero I-League. Representatives from clubs will also be included in the committee. A tentative plan will be drafted by the team and the same will be shared with all stakeholders so that the promotions can commence well before the kick-off.
The financials including the prize money were also discussed and the proposals from the meeting will be put up at next AIFF Executive Committee meeting for approval. The Champions will be handed over a hefty cheque of Rs. 1 Crore (one). First and second runners up will pocket prize money of INR 60 Lakhs and INR 40 Lakhs respectively. Fourth placed team will take home not less than INR 25 Lakhs at the end of the league. Clubs will earn INR 50,000 for winning every Hero I-League match in the upcoming league, a substantial increase from last season.
Subsidies will also be increased keeping the clubs’ interest in mind. Travel subsidy will be raised to INR 45 Lakhs and match-day subsidy will be increased to INR 1 Lakh which will see a rise of INR 30,000 from last season.
FSDL informed that they are in constant touch with the broadcaster and they assured to push for televising as many Hero I-League “LIVE” matches as possible, which can only be finalised once the fixtures are confirmed.

NEWS-DEC 2015

I-LEAGUE 2015-16TO START FROM 9TH JAN 2016

20.12.2015:AIFF PRESS RELEASE : It’s time for us to put on the team jerseys and cheer our heart out as Hero I-League 2015-16 is just around the corner. Mohun Bagan, the defending champions, will start their campaign against newbie Aizawl FC on 9th January, 2016 while the outfits clash their swords at Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Saltlake.
The clamour will be back in the drawing room while Hero I-League will kick start on 9th January. Incidentally, it’s the first time one Kolkata outfit is approaching Hero I-League as champions. Onus will be on gaffer Sanjoy Sen and his brigade to keep their heads on shoulder and hit the bull’s eye. “Last season is history now and we’ve to start from scratch. Everything will start from zero in the new season. There’s no room of complacency and everyone will be on same platform on 9th January”, Sanjoy Sen sounds pretty focussed and meticulous ahead of the Hero I-League 2015-16.
DSK Shivajians, the Pune based football powerhouse who are going to embark their voyage in Hero I-League 2015-16, will play their home matches at Balewadi Stadium, Pune. DSK Shivajians will start their Hero I-League campaign against Flaming Oranje, the football powerhouse from Goa. The Pune outfit will etch the day of 30th January in their history while they host their first ever Hero I-League match, incidentally that to champions Mohun Bagan.
Indian football fans always mark their calendar with the Kolkata derby date. The only Asian derby, which can be weighed against North London Derby or Athens Derby, is the sublime advertisement of Hero I-League, let alone Indian football. The Mariners are scheduled to host their arch rivals Kingfisher East Bengal at Salt lake Stadium on 23rd January while the return leg is slated to be played on 2nd April.
Aizawl FC, winners of Second Division League 2014-15, are rearing to unfurl their journey in Hero I-League. Lest we forget, it’s going to be the first Hero I-League season while we’ll witness an outfit from Mizoram, certainly they’ll show the same vigour and valour which they’ve already shown us in last edition of Second Division League. They’re going to host one of the snazziest outfits of Hero I-League, Bengaluru FC, at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on 16th January. Myriads of Mizo football fans are expected to pour in the stadium to cheer their heart out for their much-loved outfit.

AIFF meets for Annual General Body Meeting in Goa

20.12.2015:AIFF PRESS RELEASE : Mr. Praful Patel, President, All India Football Federation Chaired AIFF's Annual General Body Meeting which was held at Hotel Ramada, Goa on Sunday (December 20, 2015).
Besides Mr. Patel, AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das, Vice-Presidents Mr. Subrata Dutta, Mr. Subhash Chopra, Mr. Shrinivas Dempo, AIFF Executive Committee Members and members from Member Associations (except Haryana and Nagaland) also attended the Meeting, as did the two affiliated units – SSCB and RSPB. Speaking on the occasion, the AIFF President mentioned that it is time for all the State Associations to become “more accountable.”
“I feel many States are not doing enough. If Indian Football as a whole has to grow, we need more wholehearted support and participation,” he added. “We will soon be going to rank the States much like the Licensing criteria which is in existence for the I-League Clubs. There has to be accountability from all the State Associations,” he informed.
“AIFF is the custodian of Football in India and we are here to give a direction to Indian Football. For that, all the States need to move in sync,” he stated. Mentioning that the idea is to take the game to all corners of the Country, Mr. Patel lauded the support and supply line of Players from the North East Region of the Country.
“North East is the backbone of Indian Football at the moment. Furthermore, if you look at Kashmir, there were around 18000 people cheering for LoneStar FC when they played their Home matches in the 2nd Division League. The diversification of Football is so positive,” he opined.
“One of the primary reasons for bidding for the 2017 U-17 World Cup was to start a new Footballing Culture in the Country. We have made a beginning and hope it will usher in a new era and give a new dimension to the sport in the Country.”
Mr. Patel also stressed on developing an “ecosystem for Football.” “We have introduced an U-15 League and the response has been so encouraging. The idea is to develop an entire ecosystem of Football. Indian Football is not long away; it’s on the horizon,” Mr. Patel pronounced.
AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das highlighted that AIFF is addressing the “transition phase” to produce better Players. “The kids who have been identified at the GR level need to be engaged in the YDP and we are working on that,” he said. Mr. Das also stressed on AIFF’s “zero tolerance policy on corruption related to the Sport.”
“The AIFF has maintained a zero tolerance on corruption. We have conducted Workshops with FIFA and even have an Integrity Officer on board. Maintaining integrity is not just about fighting match fixing. It percolates down to all the Administrators who run the State FA, Clubs and the AIFF. In fact, we at AIFF have signed a code of ethics to address the issue,” Mr. Das echoed.

DEC 2015

Eugenson Lyngdoh voted ‘2015 AIFF Player of the Year’

20.12.2015:AIFF PRESS RELEASE : Eugenson Lyngdoh has been voted as the ‘2015 AIFF Player of the Year.’ The announcement was made by AIFF President Mr. Praful Patel at AIFF Annual General Body Meeting held in Goa on Sunday (December20).
Lyngdoh was chosen the winner on basis of votes from Coaches of I-League Clubs. He will be presented a prize of Rs. 2 lakh besides the glittering Trophy.An elated Lyngdoh confessed to www.the-aiff.com that he was “honoured” on being chosen as the ‘2015 AIFF Player of the Year.’
“The fact that I was voted by the I-League Coaches makes it all the more special for me. This is just a motivation to do better,” he stated.Furthermore, Bala Devi was declared the 2015 AIFF Woman Footballer of the Year. The 25-year old would be presented a prize of Rs. 1 lakh besides a Trophy.
“I thank the AIFF for their constant support and help. I revere the Awards lauded to me by the AIFF a lot and these are the things which matter the most to you as a Player,” she told www.the-aiff.com.
Meanwhile Pritam Kotal was declared the ‘2015 AIFF Emerging Player of the Year.’Speaking to www.the-aiff.com, Kotal thanked AIFF for the “recognition.”
“As a Player it’s my duty to give my best. Being conferred with such an Award means a lot to me. The recognition motivates me further,” he maintained.AIFF also introduced a new Award – the ‘2015 AIFF merging Woman Footballer of the Year’ and it was bagged by Pyari Xaxa.
“The AIFF Emerging Woman Player of the Year Award means the World to me and I am so happy that I could achieve this. I thank the AIFF for their constant support and exposure. And without a platform provided by the AIFF, I don’t know where I would be,” Pyari opined.
Furthermore, Football Association of Odisha (FAO) bagged the ‘2015 AIFF Award for Best Grassroots Prorgamme.’The ‘2015 AIFF Award for long time contribution to Indian Football was awarded to Coca Cola.Meanwhile, CR Srikrishna won ‘2015 AIFF Award for Best Referee’ while the ‘2015 AIFF Award for Best Assistant Referee’ was awarded to Sapam Knnedy.
2015 AIFF AWARDS AT A GLANCE:
2015 AIFF Player of the Year: Eugenson Lyngdoh
2015 AIFF Woman Footballer of the Year: Bala Devi
2015 AIFF Emerging Player of the Year: Pritam Kotal
2015 AIFF Emerging Woman Footballer of the Year: Pyari Xaxa
2015 AIFF Award for Best Grassroots Development Programme: Football Association of Odisha
2015 AIFF Award for long time contribution to Indian Football: Coca Cola
2015 AIFF Award for Best Referee: CR Srikrishna
2015 AIFF Award for Best Assistant Referee: Sapam Kennedy
PREVIOUS WINNERS OF AIFF PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
1992: IM Vijayan
1993: VP Sathyan
1994: Jo Paul Ancheri
1995: Bhaichung Bhutia
1996: Bruno Coutinho
1997: IM Vijayan
2000: IM Vijayan
2001: Jo Paul Ancheri
2002: Deepak Mondal
2003: Tomba Singh
2004: S. Venkatesh
2005: Climax Lawrence
2006: Surkumar Singh
2007: Sunil Chhetri
2008: Bhaichung Bhutia
2009: Subrata Paul
2010: Gouramangi Singh
2011: Sunil Chhetri
2012: Syed Rahim Nabi
2013: Sunil Chhetri
2014: Sunil Chhetri

JAN-2016

ROBIN OUT OF I LEAGUE

03.01.2016: Bangaluru FC will miss the service of their ace striker Robin Singh due to knee injury. Robin had a successful mission in the Indian Super League for Delhi Dynamos injured his knee in the SAFF Suzuki Cup. Robin had to leave the ground in the match against SriLanka after scoring the second goal of the match.The Bangaluru FC striker are at present in a Hospital at Mumbai, for a operation in his knee under Dr Anant Joshi.

I LEAGUE DERBY AT SALTLAKE ON 23RD

03.01.2016: The first Derby between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal on 23rd January will be played at Yubabharati Kriangan,Salt lake ,Kolkata. This was decided in a meeting with the Sports minister of West Bengal, Arup Biswas and with the officials of the two participating teams.
This will be the first instance when the two big clubs will organise a I League Derby jointly.The opening match of the current edition of I League between Mohun Bagan and Aiwzal FC will be played at Vidyasagar Kriangan, Barasat.

2016 JAN I LEAGUE 2015-16 LAUNCHED IN KOLKATA

06.01.2016 : All India Football Federation officially launched Hero I league 2015-16 at Kolkata. In a colourful function in presence of the AIFF officials ,representative of the tittle sponcer HERO and nine footballers from the participating clubs the official league of the country declared open.
In the ninth edition, nine clubs of the country will be contesting for the next five months for the crown. This year two new clubs DSK Shivajians and Aizawl FC are included in the competition in place of Pune FC, Royal Wahingdoh and Bharat FC. The opening encounter are schedule on the 9th of January between the defending champions Mohun Bagan and Aizawl FC.
CAPTAINS OF 9 TEAMS
MUMBAI FC - SANJIBAN GHOSH
AIZWAL FC - DAVID LALRINMUANA.
MOHUN BAGAN - SHILTAN PAL
BENGALURU FC - SUNIL CHHETRI
EAST BENGAL - ROBERT LALTHALMUANA
SHILLONG LAJONG - BOITHANG HAOKIP
DSK SHIVAJIANS - ASER PIERRICK DIPANDA
SALGAOCAR SC - Karanjeet Sing
SPORTING GOA - ODAFA OKOLIE
This year AIFF are adopting a specific Marketing strategy to promote I League. While interacting I league CEO Sunanda Dhar said, AIFF are planning to promote I League to different regions of the country by way of regionaltelecasting and regional space and media selling. Sunanda feels that I League will be more exiting and competitive than the previous years.

The AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das said last years I league was really existing, but he expects that this the football fanatics will witness a truly competitive I league in the next five months as the investment is nearly six hundred crore in Indian football.
While answering to a question the AIFF General Secretary said that the clubs should realise the necessity of developing a national team. If Indian national team performs then ultimately the clubs will be benefited in the long run. He congratulated Indian national coach Stephen Constantine and the entire team for the victory in SAFF cup.
PRIZE MONEY IN I LEAGUE Champions : Rs 1 crore Second Team :Rs 60 lakhs Third Team :Rs 40 lakhs Winner of a game: Rs 50 thousand

2016 JAN

I LEAGUE 2015-16 LAUNCHED IN KOLKATA

NEWS-2016 MARCH - APRIL

BISWAJIT RESIGNED : SANJAY DEPUTED AS CHIEF COACH

11.4.16 : The chief coach of East Bengal Biswajit Bhattacharjee e mailed his resignation to the club authorities. East Bengal officials accept his resignation today. In a media meeting today East Bengal declared Sanjay Maji will be in charge of the team in the remaining two matches in I League against Sporting Clube and Shillong Lajong FC.

Biswajit, the ex international who joined East Bengal as a chief coach was responsible for club's CFL triumph , but had to quit at the flag end of his I League following an unimpressive performance in the last couple of matches in the competition. East Bengal will going to recruit a new coach prior to Federation Cup.

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WHO WILL BE THE I LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 2015-16 (An Equation):

11.4.16: The equation shows that the three leading clubs in the the I League table Mohun Bagan, Bangaluru FC and East Bengal still have a chance to win.Condition : 1
If Bengaluru FC draw against Salgaocar FC and lose to Mohun Bagan and if Kingfisher East Bengal win both their remaining games.
Then all the three clubs will end up with 30 points. The Title will then be decided by Head-to-Head record between the three teams:
BFC: 2 losses against MB, 2 wins against KEB; hence total points 6
KEB: 2 losses against BFC, 1 draw & 1 win against MB, hence total points 4
MB: 1 draw & 1 loss against KEB, 2 wins against BFC, hence total points 7
Mohun Bagan will be the Hero I-League champions.

Condition : 2
If Bengaluru FC lose both their remaining games and Kingfisher East Bengal win both their remaining games.
Then Bengaluru FC finish with 29 points but Kingfisher East Bengal and Mohun Bagan end up with 30 points.
The Title will then be decided by Head-to-Head record between Mohun Bagan and Kingfisher East Bengal.
KEB: 1 draw & 1 win against MB, hence total points 4
MB: 1 draw & 1 loss against KEB, hence total points 1
Kingfisher East Bengal will be the Hero I-League champions.

Condition : 3
If Bengaluru FC win their next game against Salgaocar FC, they will clinch their second Hero I-League title in three seasons with
32 points from 15 games. Results from other games will not matter if the Blues manage to pull off a victory against the Goan side.

Arnab Mondal, who was found guilty of using aggressive/abusive words against Cornell Glen, is suspended for next two matches in Hero I-League and he is liable to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- within seven days. Arnab, who has also led the national team, is cautioned by the disciplinary committee.

Shankarlal Chakraborty, the assistant coach of Mohun Bagan, was given the marching order by the referee at the Kanchenjunga Stadium on 2nd April as he was found to be using offensive language against the officials. Shankarlal, who has been suspended for two matches in Hero I-League, has to pay a fine of Rs. 50,000/- within seven days. Shankarlal Chakraborty, who has also represented Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in his short career, is cautioned by the disciplinary committee from committing such mistake in future.

K.F.C. :The central defender of East Bengal will miss two important matches against Bangaluru FC on 10th and Sporting Goa on 16th of April. East Bengal are in a neck to neck run for the I League tittle are in trouble. Biswajit Bhattacharjee will have to adpot a new plan in the forth coming I League matches.

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ARNAB DOUGHTFUL AGAINST BANGALURU

8.4.16 : Arnab Mondal is doughtful against Bangaluru FC in an important I League encounter on Sunday evening. Arnab answered to AIFF's query regarding Cornell Glen's complain, who alleged him of racism. It is likely that the disciplinary committee of AIFF will going to decide the fate of this central defender on Saturday afternoon.

ARNAB MONDAL SHOWCAUSED BY AIFF

5.4.16: The central defender of East Bengal Arnab Mondal showcased by the AIFF , after Cornell Glen the Mohun Bagan striker alleged him of racism. The incidence occured at Siliguri in the high voltage derby match between the two arch rivals when these two footballers involved in a controversial discussion. Mohun Bagan officially sent a letter to AIFF requested them for their attention in the matter. The international defender Arnab Mondal have to answer within the 7th of April to AIFF.

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Mohun Bagan Coach Sanjoy Sen suspended for Next 8 I-League Matches

SANJAY SEN BANNED IN I LEAGUE

03.03.2016: It's indeed a great blow for the I league leaders Mohun Bagan. The All India Football Association banned the chief coach of Mohun Bagan Sanjay Sen for the next eight matches. So Mohun Bagan have to play the remaining matches of I League without their coach in the dug out.
The disciplinary committee of AIFF further penalized Sanjay Sen, who have to pay an amount of Rs 10 lacks for his adverse comment along with the suspension according to Article 58 of the AIFF Disciplinary Code. It may be stated that Sanjay Sen criticized the activities of AIFF especially for the schedule of the I League matches in a press meeting at Kolkata after the AFC match against Tampines Rovers.

Mohun Bagan appealed for the re schedule of I League fixture for the AFC Cup which was denied by AIFF. While interacting Sanjay said in the press meeting that "All India Football Federation has sold itself to certain people." Mohun Bagan will be playing the important matches in the final phases of I League which includes the derby against the arch rivals East Bengal at Siliguri.

The All India Football Federation also suspended Shillong Lajong FC's goalkeeper coach Gumpe Rime for four matches and fined an amount of Rs 30 thousand for his abusive language against the referees decision in an I League match.